"only 27 percent of respondents said the country was headed in the right direction, while 63 percent said it was off on the wrong track.

I love this statement that comes from the question. " Are you happy with the direction the country is heading? "

Hell no. Abortion, gay marriage, socialism, terrorist apologists running rampant, taxation, all of those things are absolutely horrible to think about, and yet they are all gaining in our country. PLEASE STOP the advance of liberalism!!!!!

There's a difference. Back then the polls predicted the doom but the opinions of the people we worked with, chatted with and talked with in our daily lives did not correspond with the results of those polls.

That it literally the tipping point issue. It affects everyone, and pisses them off to no end. Even if the blame is misplaced, the party in power will pay the price at the ballot box because most everyone is uninformed and mad as hell over this. An example would be maybe 1 in 10 people even know what ANWAR is, and just maybe 2 in 10 know who OPEC is and what they does to us. What people DO know is that gas is nearly $3 per gallon and from their point of view the politicians in DC are 'letting it happen' to them....

...if you say so...but the Cook Report is an independent, non partisan report.....I've heard him whack the Dems just as hard....it is not defeatist....it is research and analysis.....hopefully non bias..but I know some on FR think if anything is negative, then it is bias....I don't subscribe to that narrow minded view of the world..... besides....when Ann Coulter said the same thing...everyone here made all kinds of excuses to love her for it.....that in my book is hypocrisy....nothing less

Gas Prices and the War On Terror. Ofcourse the libs (35-40%) dont think we're fighting it hard enough and more and more conservatives think we're not fighting hard enough. Unforunately the media does not distinguish the two views and adds the whole group into one claiming that 80% or so of Americans do not support 'Bush's war in Iraq'.

There is no percieved sense of urgency about solving the problem. Instead we get "Actually, gas is still affordable. You're blowing it out of proportion. Move under the overpass a mile from your job if you don't want to drive." At least that's what I've been getting. It's made me ready to give up on oil, and I plan to as soon as I have the means to replace my own personal infrastructure.

Government needs to explain what's going on. And they also need to make it seem like their top priority is removing all of the federal legislative barriers to getting the problem solved. Nuclear electricity needs to be pushed top priority, refineries need to be allowed, boutique blends need to be consolidated nationwide or banned outright, and politicians need to be on tv weekly explaining how desperately they are trying to remove the barriers that are keeping the high prices in place. Until then, the average joe who doesn't think much is going to blame whoever is holding office.

Just caught the very end of M Barone on Sean's show today but missed his thoughts on the house races...anybody hear his opinions? He layed out a pretty good cause for the R holding the Senate...can't see the D's sweeping every close seat...I can't either.

I don't think the dems are going to take anywhere near the amount of seats that the MSM is drooling over that they might win. But the gas issue alone could theoretically tip the Presidency in '08. I'm just saying.

I don't see any change in driving habits here in Oklahoma as most people buying new cars stick with the larger vehicles, SUV's, trucks, large cars. Living in an oil/gas producing state we probably see things differently.

This additional income is allowing more wells to be drilled and some marginal wells that no one wanted to invest in are now back on line and doing great. Hope to see refineries modernized and adding a few would be nice.

If we have good candidates, they will get elected.

29
posted on 08/01/2006 10:08:05 PM PDT
by PhiKapMom
(Elect George Allen for President 2008!)

I'm NOT all that distressed regarding gas prices personally. I drive a gas guzzling sports car, but only live 2 miles from work. Gas could go to $10 per gallon for all I care, I'll just ride a bike to work. lol

Regarding my post I was pretty much referring to how I hear others speak of it all.

You have to stop minimizing the issue. It's vastly important to everyone I know. Maybe it's the area I live in.

If you're asking for my personal strategy, I would like to see an alternative become very competitive, and sustained high prices are the only way that's going to happen. But this thread is about major issues that might affect the party in power in an election year. And I'm presenting a PR strategy to solve the problem using the oil infrastructure that we currently have.

He expects the dims to gain control of the House, and the pubbies to hold the Senate. He attributes these gains to a "hostile political climate" for pubbies, higher voter turnout for dims and a less than average spending advantage for pubbies.

Makes me think....I wonder how all the gay marriage issues are going to turn around and suddenly help the dims with regard to turnout. I also don't understand why the political climate ought to be considered "hostile" toward pubbies, but I can agree with the spending point insofar as many on the right have themselves engaged in attacks on our own.

I have seen less driving in my area. But people are still driving to work. I live in a semi-rural area that requires commutes to an urban area where housing costs are high. the driving I see is commuters mostly. Recreational driving has dropped noticeably here.

Ok, maybe you misinterpreted my initial post. I was saying that most people have been giving me the "gas is affordable argument." I don't agree. Sorry if I misinterpreted your initial response to my first post as well.

The US is still the cheapest out of the non-subsidized nations if you look at absolute prices, Europe is still paying 6-8 US Dollars a gallon.

But if you look at it as a % of price increase we've been hit the hardest. Europe has the advantage of the strong currency, minimal consumer gas useage and the flexibility that high gas taxes provides.

I agree. The "gas is affordable argument." is political suicide. Even Rush Limbaugh uses the "gas is affordable argument" but he also aknowledges that it will become a major issue in november and not one that's on the side of the republicans this time around. People dont want to hear that "gas is affordable argument." Look what happened to Jimmah Carter. The "gas is affordable argument." is not much difference than the wearing of a sweater.

What did he say before the 2002 and 2004 elections then? Plus we have plenty of "independent", "non-partisan" outfits out there, all of them coming to different conclusions in how they predict various elections. Being "independent" doesn't make you right.

"..but I know some on FR think if anything is negative, then it is bias"

I still remember the early "exit polls" in 2004. They had Hanoi John winning soldidly. And that was AFTER the real polls had been cast. On top of all that, we had that notorious prediction by Zongby, after the exit polls had come out on election day, confidently predicting a Kerry win. He couldn't get it right even then. It's hardly any surprise Freepers don't think much of these predictions.

"when Ann Coulter said the same thing"

I listened to Ann talk about the mid-terms on Fox. What she said was she doesn't do predictions (unlike this guy), but going by what normally happens to the ruling party in mid-term elections Republicans should lose. But then we "should have lost" in 2002 too, going by that same argument. We won instead.

.....I don't dispute that...and yes, he could be wrong..but he has been right in the past...and I would not dismiss him as a political hack like some here just cause he is saying something they don't like....happens alot here....sorry, but it does....again....I never said he was right if YOU read my post...I said I would not ignore him at our peril..

I dont believe in the polls by the media. I DO believe my own polls as I talk with others in my daily life. There is a major change in sentiment since the 2002 and 2004 elections and not to the benefit of the republicans.

An example would be maybe 1 in 10 people even know what ANWAR is, and just maybe 2 in 10 know who OPEC is and what they does to us.

I totally agree with you. The average Joe does not know these things. It does not help that congress or senate talked about giving 100 dollars to every tax paying American and then never heard a peep again. A 100 dollars to average Joe is money to buy what ever he wants regardless of the amount.

"Help support my "Ride Your Bike to the Polls on Election Wednesday" endeavor."

That would work for me. I live in a small town. I could ride a bike most anywhere I would want to go. Of course I would have to buy one first, and it would suck during bad weather or if I had to haul anything. =)

True. The media polls had the republicans losing in 2002 and 2004. But we knew those polls were bogus because they did not reflect the opinions we heard by the average joe on the streets in our daily life back then.

This time I see a difference. The same average joes who were supporting the GOP back then are angry now. They DO reflect the polls I see.

If everybody you talk to is happy then I guess the status quo is safe. But I dont see it that way. Not this time. Not here in FR, not in other forums and NOT with the people I talk with daily.

If we lose the House, we will lose any chance of controlling our borders and we will have open immigration disguised as amnesty and we will, as a result, lose our constitutional republic as we know it.

If we lose the Senate, we lose any chance of restoring the court system to an acquaintanceship with the Constitution and every facet of our lives will be distorted.

50
posted on 08/01/2006 10:47:50 PM PDT
by nathanbedford
("I like to legislate. I feel I've done a lot of good." Sen. Robert Byrd)

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